Tag Archives: phrasal verbs

Here are some phrasal verbs/idioms that are often used when we’re talking about relieving (reducing) stress.

“I’m going to treat myself to a piece of chocolate.”

“Tonight, I’m treating myself to a hot bath and a novel. I haven’t had time to read in two weeks!”

To “treat yourself (herself/etc.) to something” is to do something that you don’t usually do. Maybe you don’t usually do it for time, money, or health reasons.

“I’m taking a break from the news. I think I’ll go to the gym or take a walk in the park.”

“My friend’s coming over so I can take a break from watching my daughter.”

“Playing with my dog lets me take a break from worrying about what is happening.”

To “take a break from something” or “take a break from doing something” means to stop doing it for a while.

“My son decided to play video games for a while to take his mind off the bad news.”

“I’m going to bake some cookies to take my mind off things. Do you want to come over and help?”

“I got my mind off everything by going to the gym yesterday. It was good.”

To “take [your/my/etc.] mind off something” means to make yourself think about something else by doing another activity.

“Get [your/my/etc.] mind off something” is basically the same. Sometimes “of” is used (“take your mind off of something”/”get your mind off of something”).

“My boss decided to give everyone a break by letting us work from home We still have to work, but we don’t have to go to the office.”

“Give yourself a break and don’t worry about what other people think right now.”

“I’m giving myself a break by cooking easy things for dinner.”

There are two patterns here: 1) “give someone a break by doing something” 2) “give someone a break and do something”

Both basically mean the same thing: to make life a little easier by doing something (working from home, not worrying about what other people thing, cooking easy things for dinner).

“Give yourself a break and” may actually mean “both relax a little and do this thing” or “first relax a little, and then immediately do this thing to continue relaxing.” All three ways of understanding the meaning of this phrase are so close that it doesn’t really matter.

“She’s relaxing with a cup of tea and a book now. Don’t bother her!”

“I’m so stressed out–I’m going to go relax with some music.”

“You’ve been working on that for hours. Why don’t you go relax with a video game for a while?”

To relax with something is to relax while you are using/drinking/reading/etc. that thing.

If you’d like to use a verb, use “relax and” instead: “I’m going to relax and watch a DVD.

If you’re stressed out right now, but not in an emergency situation, I hope you can give yourself a break from the stress.